Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-04-29
EDITORIAL.
NATIONAL HOME FOR b. v. s.
Milwaukee, Wis, April End, 1SS'

Milwaukee, Wis, April End, 1887. K
HENRY G. STEPHENS.
Kind and Respected Sir:-Your es-
teemed favor of the 10th ult., came to ,
hand in due season and would have
been acknowledged sooner but want
ed to learn more of the Home, so as to
give you Il better idea of Its Individual
ity.
First, it is located some five miles
from the city-center on an elevation of
over one hundred feet above the lake,
fronting east or toward the city. The
main structure Of the principal build
ing is five stories high the basement
being some three. feet below the sur
face) and IS about 5Ox25O feet, each |
story being from 10 to Is feet high. 1t |
has three towers, the main one on the
east center, aiding about half of it's |
column to the width of the bullding.-t
Projecting west from the southwest
corner is another tower, its second
story being the writing room, about fif-
teen feet square, in which is d table,
large enough to accommodate dozen
writer's and furnished with pens, ink,
blotting paper end Websters Un-
abridged Dictionary for the use of the
inmates of the Home. In the basement
is a large room. called the smoking
room, furnished with Office chairs and
two tables for a kind of billiards, and
eight or ten large round tables for whist,
euchre and the like. The rest of the
basement is mostly devoted to apart
ments for newly arrived inmates who
are required to be vaccinated as well as
| to get rid af any GRAY ybacks" they may
be fortunate or unfortunate enough to
possess. There is also a barber shop.
All the sleeping apartments for soldiers
are about 18x3O feet, each having from
twelve to fifteen beds. Each bed is 21155
feet wide, raised nearly 2 feet from the
floor, with a network Of wire in place
of Stats or springs, and furnished with
!. a light mattress, four cr five good army
: blankets, one pillow, one sheet, and a
light spread to ornament the bed when
not in use. On the second floor is the
$ library and reading room, supplied with
a large number Of daily and weekly pa
. pers Of all shades of political, religious
. industrial and literary proclivities, as
: well as most Of the great monthlies and
reviews. Newspapers are put into a
kind of clasp and hung on frames ar
ranged for that purpose. Papers of the
$ size of the Western Christian Advocate
family, the Independent, Christian
:, Union, Youths Companion, ETC., toge.
ther with all magazines lie, scattered
along the length Of the table some SO OF
60 feet. The library contains 1000 vol
5 5 umes, On the second floor are also the
Offices of the Home governor and secre-
:, tary. On the third floor is a G. A. r.
: Hail and bath room. Everything is
kept on the apostolic rule, e. j. decent
ly and in order" each room being swept
!; daily and mopped every week. The
halls are swept four or five times day
: and mopped nearly every day:
Projecting from the west side OF
main building is a three story wing, on
), the SECOND floor of which is. the main
\ dining room, capable of seating over
\ 300 men, joining this is another dining
hall, seating 200 men. All the tables
Il are nearly filed at every meal. Our
\ grub" is, for breakfast bread, butter
i cold meat, coffee, milk and sugar. Din.
}, ner, (potatoes nearly every day. good
! ! rich soup three times week on Other
{ days we have turnips, carrots or pars
nips, some times onions, beets in vim
: egar nearly every day.. Fridays, Of
/ course, we have both flesh and fish
1 Sundays baked beans and pie, with oc
casionally some ecake.
1 For supper we have bread, butter
4 cold meat, tea, milk and sugar.
There is another building, accom-,
modatlng some 300 more inmates, be
I sides the hospital, store, post office
I theatrical hall, wagon shop, harness
shop, shoe shop, guard house and per
haps others. There are 400 or 500 acres
in the home farm. The men are divid
ed into companies under one sergeant
land cne corporal, who must see that
each man is in his room at the ere
treat, unless he has a pass from bis
sergeant or he is put on the dump, as il
is called, that is, he has to do heavy
outside work. II
After "retreat" till "reveille" no one
lis allowed to move around thereon, OF
'5 in the halls with shoes on, ncr other
wise disturb those who wish to sleep
Any one can go down town or any
where he chooses without pass, IT hi
is back at retreat. 1t takes few dayf
t, for the red tape' process to admit ont
; sfter'h he gets here and supply him witt
tie uniform.
II Any one wishing more information
,to wi